When she was in her early 20s, my mother worked with a Frenchwoman named Jackie. One day, my mother mentioned that she was looking forward to trying a crêpe recipe that she had found. "Only a French person can teach you how to make crêpes," Jackie declared, and the next day she brought in an electric skillet to demonstrate her superlative version for her office mates. My mom knew a good thing when she tasted it, and she promptly appropriated the recipe. When Mom got married, her coworker brought her a crêpe pan from Paris, and it has become beautifully seasoned from nearly 40 years of use. I have many happy memories of weekend brunches, downing six or seven delicious crêpes and fighting with my brother over the last one.
I also have happy memories of hours spent at my mom's side, watching her pour the batter into that pan and turn it just so. A few years ago, she gave me a pan of my own, and this recipe is now one of my specialties — a favorite request from my boyfriend and our friends. Over time I have experimented, using different liqueurs for flavoring. I still prefer regular brandy, but I have also had great results using two parts bourbon and one part Amaretto, or substituting specialized brandies such as Cognac or fruit-flavored eau-de-vie.